Casing elevator



v May 19, 1931 E. E. GREVE CASING ELEVATOR Filed Sept; 7, 1929 2' Shfs-Sheet 1 INVENTOR E. E. GREVE CASING ELEVATOR May 19, 1931.

- 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 7, 1929 zaw'mzm,

Patented May 19; 1931 EDGAR E. GREVE, or BELLEVUE, :eENnsY vAiirIgAssIGNom BY; Mn'sNn ASSIGNMENTS;

V TOOIL WELL SUZPPLY nonor Nnw Jn sEr COMPAN or rrr'rsBUBGH; IEN SY VA IA, A consona- CASING E EVAT R kpplicatio nflle d September 7, 1912s. SerialNo. $90 1,.

This inventionrelates to casing elevators; and'particu'larlly to casing elevatorslof the single bail and: gate type of the class shown in my prior United States Patents No. 1,180,031v of April 18 1916 and of February 22, 1927.

Among the oh-i ectsof the present invene tion are, to provide new and improved latch or locking means associated with the closure means of the elevator for automaticallyloeking the closure; to provide'a" construction of such character fa-s to permit a reversalof the body 'and associated parts fwhen so desiredin a simple and efficient manner, whereby the wear on the body and closure caused by the heavy loads to which these parts are subjected maybe taken care'of; and to provide a construction in which the loads can ried by the elevator are: so distributed as not to affect the proper working of the latch o-r l ockactuating means p 1 In the accompanying drawings, which il lustrate applications of my'invention':

Fig. 1'is' a top plan view ofa casing ele vator embodying my invention applied to a section of drill casingor pipe;

Fig.-

a frontelevation; Fig. 3.21 side elevation; i Fig; 4, a vertical sectional view taken through the latch; v

Fig. 5, a top plan view of the doorsof the elevator, showing one door closed and -another door engaging the Iatchcam'; Fig. 6, a top plan view of a modified of my invention.

Referring to the drawings, 2 designates the U-shaped body of the elevator, provided with diametrically opposed trunnions 3 for mounting a bail 1 to support the elevator in the usual manner. 7 5

The OpIGH fIOI-Ifi of the body is adapted to he closed by means of doors 'orfgates-oand 5d. pivotally Secured' t-o'the body by, hinge bolts for pinsfo, said doors andhody being provided with interfitting hinge ortions 7. Doors 5 and 5a are al soprovided with form interlocking portions 8 at their: meetingedg'es to provide a firm and efiicient closureffHanjdies 9 project outwardlyfrom the doors. for the manipulation thereof.-

1 0116 of the importantfeatures of my in,-

ventiion resides in new" and improved look.

ing or latching'means toriirmly securing the doors together. Midway of their joining, edges,- the doors. 5 and 5a are provided. with prdjectinglugslO and 10'arespectively,adapt ed to beengaged by a latch device including a member 11 having opening 12 there r through torec'eive the lugs? The latch de vice is furthereprovided at its top with a forwardly extending grip orihandle 13- and an: integral angnlarly disposed? and inclined camiA' pro 'ectingfroni a side thereof. A hollowrylindric'al portion14s depends from:

the latch ,proper, having? a bore: 15* adapted to receive a hollow cylindrical member 16.

Memberldisprovided with an integral hub portion17 having anopening 18 therethrough for receiving a transverse pin 19, the latter heing. rotatably' mounted in spaced-apart bosses orre'ars 20" disposed. at the lower por tion. of the doorou Hub 1:7 is fixedly se- I euredto the pinltk by means of a key 21.

The portion 14' of the latch is designed to have a1 r'eciproca l: motion on the member 1 6".

To this end, a latch spring 22 is positioned in the member 16 between an anchor pin 23, extending through the topof said member and an anchor pin '94, the latter extending through slots 25fo'rm'ed in the lower portion of member 16 and proje'cting-atl'eacll' side thereof into the wall oi the portion 1 1; By means of the parts just described, the latchdevice is' retained onthe door 5 and is: designed to move in a vertical direction sub stantially parallel tov the vertical axis oi the elevat on It will be noted that the spring 22 functions to draw element 11 always towards the lugs 10' and 10a. i

7 Pin 19 isprovided with a head 1 9a at one end thereof and its other end extends beyond the boss or ear '21) and is slotted,

as at 26'. to receive oneend of a coil spring. 27, the'other end of said spring extending downavar'dly; against the outer surface of the dooro as" at'28. The action of the spring 27 is'sucli" that the latch device 11 is urged against the outer surface of the door 5 shown said spring, however, permitting movement of the latch structure away from the doors and about the axis of the pin It will be noted that the lug 10a is formed with a recessed portions a at its top, for receiving the upper wall of the opening 12 of latch member 11 for retention thereof.

In positioning the elevator around the drill casing or pipe C, the doors are opened to permit the entrance of said casing to the cavity of the body 2. To close the doors 5 and 5a, the operator grasps the handles 9 and swings both doors inwardly toward the body. Cam A will engage lug 10a of the door 5a as the doors come together, and due to its downwardly inclined face 6, said cam will lift the latch member 11 upwardly and outwardly with respect to the door 5, to which it is attached. When the latch opening 12 engages the lug 10a, the spring 27 will force the latch against the outer surface of the doors, and spring 22 with its cooperating pins and retainers will draw the latch downwardly in a direction substantially parallel tothe vertical axis of the elevator, by means of the latch portion 14, until the upper wall of the latch opening 12 engages the recess a.

In the event that the door 5a is closed first, the upper wall of the latch opening 12 is tapered rearwardly and upwardly for engaging the outer edge of the lug 10a to lift the latch upwardly, whence it is moved inwardly by the spring 27 and downwardly into the recess a of said lug by means of spring 22. as described.

Should the door 5 be closed first, moving the door 5a inwardly will first engage the edge of said door with the cam face I), then lug 10a will engage the cam to effect a movement of the latch as hereinbefore described. This condition is particularly shown in Fig. 5. To open the doors, the operator grasps the grip 13 and lifts upwardly and then outwardly, to disengage the latch from the recess a of the lug 10a and permit the doors 5 and 5a to be swung open.

It will be noted that when the elevator is secured on the casing in closed position, the lugs 10 and 10a are within the opening 12 of the latch member 11. WVhen a load is put on the elevator, the forces caused thereby which tend to open the elevator doors will be distributed and absorbed by the latch proper. which is member 11. No strain will be placed upon any of the members which serve to antomatically operate the latch: in particular, the telescoping cylindrical members 14 and 16 and the transverse pin 19. It is noteworthy that the pivotal mounting of the pin 9 permits the locking means to be automatically moved or swung inwardly relatively to the body radially of the longitudinal axis thereof and substantially parallel to the said axis.

To insure efiicient operation of my elevator, I have provided the doors 5 and 5a with limiting lugs or projections 29, adapted to cooperate with similar lugs or projections 30 on the body 2, said lugs 29 and 30 bein positioned adjacent the hinge pins 6. The unction of these lugs is to provide a limiting means whereby the movement of the doors inwardly may be arrested, to insure alinement of the doors and their respective latch parts.

An additional feature of my invention consists of means for providing a reversible elevator; that is to say, an elevator which has two load-supporting surfaces for engaging the couplings of the drill casing sections. As shown in the drawings, the body and doors have an upper load-supporting surface 31 and a similar lower surface 32. In the upright position shown, the upper surface 31 is used for supporting the casing. For retaining the elevator in this position, I provide retaining members 33, each of said members having one end secured to the trunnion 3 by means of a bolt 34, and a right angle portion 35 projecting into an opening 36 in the body 2.

When it is desired to employ the lower surface 32. the bolts 34 may be loosened, and the portions 35 disengaged from openings 36. The entire elevator may then be turned through 180 degrees on the axis of its trunnions. and portions 35 entered into openings 36a of the body. Bolts 34 are then tightened and the elevator is ready for use in its inverted position.

In the form of Fig. 6, I have shown my latch applied to a single-door elevator. The cam A is not necessary to this construction. and is omitted. The lug 10a is secured to the body 20 and the lug 10 is formed on the single door 5?). The latch 11 is'pivotally mounted on this door 5?). All other parts are similar to those shown in the preferred form of my invention. The operationof the latch on this form of elevator is similar to the two door elevator when the door bearing the lug 100 has been closed first.

I claim:

1. In a casing elevator, a reversible body member having similar end portions, trunnions projecting from the body, a bail pivotally connected with the trunnions. said body being provided with a recess adjacent each end, and a body-retaining member having a portion entered in one of the said recesses.

2. In a casing elevator, a reversible body member having similar end portions, trunnions projecting from the body, a bail pivotally connected with the trunnions, and a body-retaining member having a trunnionengaging portion and a body-engaging portion, said body member having at each end a portion for engagement by the retaining member, either of which may be engaged thereby selectively.

3. In a casing elevator, a reversible body member having similar end portions, trunnions projecting from the body, a bail pivotally connected with the trunnions, closure means for the body, locking means forthe closure including automatically operable means operable to eflect locking upon movement of the closure means when the bodyi's in either of two positions, and a body-retaining member having a trunnion-engaging portion and a body-engaging portion, said body member having at each end a portion forene gagement by the retaining member, either of which may be engaged thereby selectively.

4. In a casing elevator, a reversible body member having similar end portions, trunnions projecting from the body, a bail pivotally connected with the trunnions, a pair of hinged gates mounted on the body, a lug on the V respective gates adjacent the meeting edges thereof, locking means for said gates mounted on one of the gates, said locking means including automatically operable means operable to efiect locking upon movement of the gates when the body is in either of two positions, and a body-retaining member having a trunnion-engaging portion and a body-engaging portion. said body member having at each end a portion'for engagement 7 by the retaining member,- either of which may be engaged therebyselectively.

5. In a casingelevator. the combination r with a bail. of a reversible body member hav ing similar end portions,.trunnions pivotally mounting the body on the bail, said body having a recess adjacent each of its opposite ends. v and a body retainer element having one portion connected to a trunnion and another portion entered mom of said recesses.

'- 6. In a caslng elevator. the comblnation with a bail, of a reversible body member hav-' ing similar end portions, trunnions pivotally mounting the body on the bail, said bodv having a pair of recesses adjacent each of its opposite ends. and apair of body retainer elements each having one portion connected to a trunnion and another portion entered in'one of said recesses.

7. In a casing elevator, a reversible body member having similar end portions, trunnions projecting from the body, a bail pivotally connected with the trunnions, said body being provided with a recess adjacent each end, and a body-retaining member having one portlon connected to a trunnlon and another -portion entered in one ofsaid recesses.

In testimony whereof I afiixr my signature.

EDGAR. E. GREVE 

